Finding Aids to Collections in the Archive of Folk Culture

ILLINOIS COLLECTIONS
IN THE ARCHIVE OF FOLK CULTURE

Compiled by: Jeremy Foutz and Joseph C. Hickerson
Series Editor: Ann Hoog
Revised: April 2015

John Hammond and Alan Lomax Recordings of Blues and Jazz Musicians (AFC 1939/008)
Eleven 12-inch discs of 24 songs and stories played, sung, and spoken by Albert Ammons, James P. Johnson, Pete Johnson, Meade Lux Lewis, and Sa[u]nders (Sonny Terry) Terrell. Recorded in New York City by Alan Lomax, December 24, 1938, through the courtesy of John Hammond. [from old notes: Recordings of jazz musicians who performed at Carnegie Hall (Dec. 22, 1939?)] (AFS 2490-2500) [catalog record]

AFC 1939/008: AFS 2495-96A: One tape containing "Honky Tonk Train," an unidentified song fragment, and "Whistling Blues" performed and sung by Meade Lux Lewis (originally of Chicago, Illinois) on piano and an interview with Lewis conducted by Alan Lomax. (20 minutes; preservation tape LWO 4872)

AFC 1939/008: AFS 2497-98: One tape containing "Boogie Woogie Number 2" and piano blues performed by Albert Ammons (originally of Chicago, Illinois) on piano. (preservation tape LWO 4872)

Resettlement Administration Recordings Collection (AFC 1939/016)
One hundred sixty-five 12-inch discs of instrumentals and songs recorded in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C., by Sidney Robertson Cowell, Charles Seeger, Margaret Valiant, and others for the Special Skills Division, Resettlement Administration, 1936-37. The collection includes 3 1/2 inches of transcripts, correspondence, graphic images, and a program book from the 1937 National Folk Festival. [catalog record]

AFC 1939/016: AFS 3242-3275: Thirty-four discs containing recordings from the 1937 National Folk Festival held in Chicago, Illinois. Illinois performers include David McIntosh, Magnolia Butts, Salty Holmes, Wesley Jones, Polish music, Winnebago music, and dance bands from various regions in Illinois. Recorded by Sidney Robertson Cowell, May 1937. (2 hours and 26 minutes; LWO 4872 reels 215-216 and LWO 15,727)

Frances Densmore Collection of Sioux and Navajo Songs from the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition (AFC 1943/024)
Two 10-inch discs recorded by Frances Densmore containing two Navajo and five Sioux songs recorded at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago, August 1933. Accompanied by her manuscript and song transcriptions for six of the seven songs plus graph and "phonophotograph" of a song made at the Psychological Laboratory, State University of Iowa. The singers were Pablo Huerito, Frank Huerito, Willard White Breast, Eugene Hairy Bird, Dave Charging, Good Eagle Woman, and White Breast. (AFS 6895-6896) (18 minutes; preservation tape LWO 4872 reel 436A)

Anne and Frank Warner Collection (AFC 1950/002)
One hundred five 12-inch discs, 17 7-inch tapes, and 2 5-inch tapes of instrumentals, interviews, readings, songs, and stories recorded in Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Missouri, Vermont, Virginia, and to some unspecified locations in the Midwest, by Anne and Frank M. Warner, 1940-66. The collection includes concordances, correspondence, fieldnotes, lists, and photographs. (LWO 7220 (AFS 15,261-15,384) [catalog record]

AFC 1950/002: AFS 15,353(?): One disc containing ballads, play party songs, and other folk songs performed by Mrs. Wolf and Mrs. Lark. Recorded in Hurst (or Bush), Illinois, 1941.

National Folk Festival, 1938 (AFC 1950/017)
One 12-inch and 39 16-inch discs of instrumentals, radio programs, and songs. Recorded primarily at the National Folk Festival in Washington, D.C., by the U.S. Recording Company, May 6-8, 1938. The collection includes 3/4 linear inch of song lists, newspaper articles, and programs. Sarah Gertrude Knott makes some introductions. (AFS 9829-9868) [catalog record]

AFC 1950/017: AFS 9830B4: One disc containing "Minuet" performed by Joseph Creanzo and group, from Chicago, Illinois. (6 minutes; preservation tape LWO 5111 reel 263)

Carl Sandburg Recordings (AFC 1950/020)
One 16-inch disc containing "It's All the Same Where You Go When You Die," "The Newspaper Man," and "Jesus Christ and Saint Peter" [written by Eugene Field and The White Chapel Club of Chicago] sung and accompanied with guitar by Carl Sandburg of Chicago, Illinois, and Flat Rock, North Carolina. Recorded at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., December 10, 1949. The collection includes 4 pages of lists and correspondence. (5 minutes; preservation tape LWO 5111 reel 277B) (AFS 9900)

John W. Allen Recordings of "La guiannee" and Illinois Folk Music (AFC 1950/034)
Five 7-inch tapes of a traditional New Year's Eve French ceremony including the song "La Guiannee." Recorded in Prairie du Rocher, Illinois, by John Allen of Southern Illinois University, December 30-31, 1948. Also included is a recording of songs and folk tunes performed by Robert Wilson of Hamilton County, Illinois. The collection includes a song list and correspondence. (AFS 9974-9978) [catalog record]

Jonas Balys collection (AFC 1953/016)
Collection of field recordings of Lithuanian and a few Polish and Greek folk and popular songs, and dance music recorded in Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin. Recorded by Jonas Balys from 1949-1959, sponsored by the American Philosophical Society and Indiana University. The collection includes an alphabetic index of songs, copies of six diaries of field notes and song texts, mostly in Lithuanian, with a few translations into English. Genres include ballads, drinking songs, emigrant songs, flax working songs, harvest songs, herding songs, hunting songs, orphan songs, patriotic songs, religious songs, soldiers' songs, wedding songs, Christmas and Lenten songs, and a few hymns. The collection also includes tales, legends, beliefs, customs, and folk medical practices from Lithuania. [catalog record]

AFC 1953/016: AFS 10,874A3: One tape containing "Kad aš jojau per berăyna" sung by Gertrūda Lacytienė of Jankaičiai Village, Kretingalė Parish. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, July 25, 1949. (2 minutes; LWO 8171 reel 1A1)

AFC 1953/016: AFS 10,874A10 and A14: One tape containing "Vaikščiojo močiutė po didi dvara" and "Vai broli broli broleli mano" sung by Uršulė Zemaitienė of Šukiai Village, Lankeliskiai Parish. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, August 25 and July 23, 1949. (2 minutes; LWO 8171 reel 1A1 and 1A2)

AFC 1953/016: AFS 10,874A14: One tape containing "Aš iššinavau visas daineles" sung by Julija Andrulienė of Užalksninaiai Village, Užventis Parish. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, July 25, 1949. (2 minutes; LWO 8171 reel 1A2)

AFC 1953/016: AFS 19,161; 19,162; 19172; 19177; 19178: Five tapes containing 224 songs sung by Uršulė Zemaitienė of Šukiai Village, Lankeliskiai Parish. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, July 21-23 and 25, 1949, November 11, 1949, and June 11 and 13, 1951. (LWO 9748 reels 1B; 2A-2B1; 12B; 17B2; 18A)

AFC 1953/016: AFS 19,161; 19,173: Two tapes containing 20 songs sung by Rožė Maziliauskienė of Bartininkai Village, Naumiestis Parish. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, July 25, 1949. (LWO 9748 reels 1B1; 13A1)

AFC 1953/016: AFS 19,162; 19,163; 19,171; 19,173: Four tapes containing 66 songs sung by Julija Andrulienė of Užalksninaiai Village, Užventis Parish. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, July 25, 1949, November 9, 15-16, 1949. (LWO 9748 reels 2B2; 3A1; 11A2 and B2; 13A)

AFC 1953/016: AFS 19,172; 19,173: Two tapes containing 49 songs sung by Gertrūda Lacytienė of Jankaičiai Village, Kretingalė Parish. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, November 10-12, 1949. (LWO 9748 reels 12 and 13A1)

AFC 1953/016: AFS 19,172: One tape containing 3 songs sung by Eleonora Mellas of Christal Falls, Michigan [learned from her grandmother Aluckienė]. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, November 10, 1949. (LWO 9748 reel R12A2)

AFC 1953/016: AFS 19,172: One tape containing 5 songs sung by Magdalena Aluckienė of Kalnėnai Village, Gudeliai Parish. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, November 10, 1949. (LWO 9748 reel R12A2)

AFC 1953/016: AFS 19,172: One tape containing 5 songs sung by Viktorija Tašerkienė of Girkalnis Township. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, November 10, 1949. (LWO 9748 reel 12A2)

AFC 1953/016: AFS 19,173: One tape containing 9 songs sung by Ona Dažinienė of Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, November 13, 1949. (LWO 9748 reel 13A1)

AFC 1953/016: AFS 19,173: One tape containing 5 songs sung by Elizbieta Samienė of Kapčiūnai Village, Klovainiai Parish. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, November 15, 1949. (LWO 9748 reel 13A2)

AFC 1953/016: AFS 19,173: One tape containing one song sung by Pranciška Bračiulienė of Arškainiai Village, Raseiniai Parish. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 1949. (LWO 9748 reel 13A2)

AFC 1953/016: AFS 19,177: One tape containing one song sung by Elizbieta Stankuvienė of Jokūbiškis homestead, Viešintai Parish. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, June 11, 1951. (LWO 9748 reel 17B2)

"It Happened in Southern Illinois" by John W. Allen (AFC 1964/001)
Three boxes of press releases of a weekly column series entitled "It Happened in Southern Illinois" on regional folklore and historical accounts from Southern Illinois. [catalog record]

Arminta Neal Recordings (AFC 1965/013)
One 3-inch tape of "Find a Wife" and "Little Mohea" sung with guitar by Arminta Neal. Recorded in Denver, Colorado, by Neal, ca. 1965. These songs were learned from her roommate, Doris Sanford, who heard them from her grandmother, Clara Pettiford, of Reiner, Illinois. The collection includes one page of notes. (LWO 4467) (includes AFS 12,320) [catalog record]

Lani Herrmann and Cal Herrmann collection of folk music concert recordings (AFC 1970/033)
Four 10-inch tapes of a Roosevelt University concert (Chicago, Illinois), featuring Studs Terkel, Big Bill Broonzy, Gerry Armstrong, and Win Strackey. Recorded December 13, 1956; a performance of Pete Seeger, Sonny Terry, and Big Bill Broonzy recorded on an unknown date; and Seeger and Broonzy at Circle Pines, Michigan, recorded July 6, 1957. (LWO 5846) (AFS 14,172-14,175) [catalog record]

Peabody Museum Cylinders (AFS 14,737-14,754)
Eighteen preservation tape copies of wax cylinders from the Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

AFS 14,740-14,741: Two tapes (copied from 101 cylinders) containing European Classical, Fijian, Samoan, Wallis Island, Javanese, Kwakiutl, and Turkish Theater music, recorded at the 1893 Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. Recorded by Benjamin Ives Gilman.

Laura Boulton Collection (AFC 1973/028)
Three hundred and eighteen 10-inch discs of instrumentals and songs recorded in British Columbia, Illinois, Manitoba, Minnesota, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec by Laura Boulton, 1941-42, for the National Film Board of Canada. The collection includes 3 linear inches of notes. (LWO 7551 reels 36b-49a (preservation copies)

Laura Boulton Collection Part 11: Music of the Peoples of Canada
Three hundred eighteen 10-inch discs of instrumentals and songs recorded in British Columbia, Illinois, Manitoba, Minnesota, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec by Laura Boulton, 1941-42, for the National Film Board of Canada. The collection includes 3 linear inches of notes.

AFC 1973/028: AFS 16,560; 16563-16,567: Six tapes containing Polish music recorded in Chicago, Illinois, by Laura Boulton, ca. 1942. Includes the Polish National Anthem, dances, polkas, love songs, soldier's songs, and other Polish folk songs.

Bruce Kaplan / Blue Sky Boys Recordings (AFC 1975/017)
One 7-inch tape of two songs by the Blue Sky Boys recorded in concert at the University of Illinois, October 17, 1964, by Bruce Kaplan. (?) (LWO 8525) (AFS 17,486).

Richard K. Spottswood Recordings of George McCoy and Ethel McCoy (AFC 1976/009)
Four 7-inch tapes of blues and children's songs sung and played on guitar by George and Ethel McCoy. Recorded by Richard Spottswood in the McCoy home in East St. Louis, Illinois, September 28, 1975. Includes interview. (LWO 8834) (AFS 17,991-17,994) [catalog record]

Mississippi Road performed by J. B. Lenoir (AFC 1976/040)
One 7-inch tape of "Mississippi Road" performed by J.B. Lenoir with guitar. Dubbed from CBS Germany Master tape. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, 1965. (LWO 9194) (AFS 18,879) [catalog record]

William D. Miller Collection of Indian Creek Delta Boys Recordings (AFC 1977/037)
One audiocassette of dance music from southern Illinois, performed on fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, and bass by the Indian Creek Delta Boys (Gary Harrison, Terry Harrison, Lynn Smith, Dan Baird, David Miller.) Recorded by the performers, March 1976. (LWO 9865) (includes AFS 19,181) [catalog record]

1979 Neptune Plaza Concert Series Collection (AFC 1979/006)
Ten 10-inch tapes of instrumentals, interviews, and songs performed primarily as part of the 1979 Neptune Plaza Concert Series, sponsored by the American Folklife Center. Recorded at the Library of Congress, April-September 1979. [catalog record] [finding aid]

The following describes documentation from the August, 30, 1979, concert of Mexican music performed by Melecio Martinez of Chicago, Illinois.

AFC 1979/006: Folder 10: One folder containing a flyer, press releases, news clippings, photocopy of resume of Martinez, seating chart and list of guests at the box lunch at the concert, and photo credits.

AFC 1979/006: Folder 11: One folder containing 3 black-and-white contact sheets of images from the concert (77 images) and 2 8x10 black-and-white photoprints. Photographed by John T. Gibbs and Carl Fleischhauer.

LWO 12,991: One tape containing the concert. (1 hour)

AFC 1979/006: Envelopes 10-11: Two envelopes containing 3 sheets of black-and-white negatives from the concert (77 images). Photographed by John T. Gibbs and Carl Fleischhauer.

AFC 1979/006: Envelopes 12-13: Two envelopes containing 2 holders of color slides of the concert (29 images). Photographed by John T. Gibbs.

Selma Jacobson Swedish American Songbook and Humor Collection (AFC 1979/009)
Selma Anderson of the Swedish Pioneer Historical Society in Chicago, Illinois, donated this collection of songbooks, ballads, and Swedish American humor books, most of which were published by the firm of And. L. Lofstrom, Chicago. The Dalkullans Sangbok annual series, 1903-1933 [incomplete], has lyrics for songs and ballads; one volume, 1919, has music for piano and voice. The Visor series, no. 1-64 [incomplete] are broadsides, folded, uncut, with lyrics for ballads and songs; index, undated. Seven illustrated volumes of Scandinavian stories, wit, and humor, 1894-1931. Manuscripts include correspondence from Selma Anderson on her work preserving Swedish American ethnic heritage materials in Chicago, 1978-1979. [catalog record]

Chicago Ethnic Arts Project Collection (AFC 1981/004)
Ninety-nine 7-inch tapes and 245 audiocassettes,13 linear inches of contact sheets, 8 3/4 linear feet of field notes and logs, 3080 slides, 210 photographs, and 2 videos from the Chicago Ethnic Arts Project Collection, a field survey of ethnic artistic expression including dance, foodways, neighborhood gatherings, religious celebrations, and instrumental and vocal music. Recorded in the Chicago, Illinois, area by various collectors under the direction of Elena Bradunas, February-November 1977; under the joint sponsorship of the American Folklife Center and the Illinois Arts Council. The collection includes a 561-page report on the project published by the American Folklife Center in January 1978. Key subjects: communities activities; dance-performance, social, and folk; foodways; music--instrumental and vocal; religious celebrations; textile arts; and wood carving. (RYA 0601-0845 (cassettes); RXA 1004-1098 (reels); RXA 1353-1356 (reels); includes AFS 20,524-20,867) [catalog record] [finding aid]

The Wandering folksong, radio shows compiled and hosted by George Armstrong (AFC 1981/016)
Two 10-inch tapes of "Cecil Sharp in the Southern Appalachians," broadcast on WFMT (Chicago, Illinois) November 21, 1980, and "Brasstown Memories" (Brasstown, North Carolina), never broadcast. Contains interviews with Olive Dame Campbell, Jean Ritchie Pickow, Edna Ritchie Baker, and others. Recorded by George Armstrong, ca. 1980. (RWA 0331-0332) (AFS 20,101-20,102) [catalog record]

Ethnic Broadcasting in America Collection (AFC 1981/018)
Eighteen 7-inch tapes, 2 5-inch tapes, and 117 cassettes of ethnic radio broadcasts recorded for the Ethnic Broadcasting in America Project of the American Folklife Center. Recorded mostly off the air by Elena Bradunas, Theodore Grame, Alan Jabbour, and others at various locations in the United States, 1977-78. Documentation includes Theodore Grame's Ethnic Broadcasting in the United States (Washington, D.C.: American Folklife Center, 1980) and 9 linear inches of manuscript materials. (RXA 4458-4477; RYA 2887-3003) [catalog record]

AFC 1981/018: AFS 23,064: One tape containing Polish and Italian radio programs broadcast on WEDC (1240 AM), Chicago, Illinois, June 13, 1978. (RYA 2923)

AFC 1981/018: AFS 23,095: One tape containing a polka radio program broadcast on WLTD, Evanston, Illinois, June 11, 1978. (RYA 2953)

AFC 1981/018: AFS 23,106-23,108: Three tapes containing Hungarian, Serbian, Serbian (Sumadija region), and Lithuanian radio programs broadcast on WNIB (97.1 FM), Chicago, Illinois, June 10 and June 12, 1978. (RYA 2964-2966)

AFC 1981/018: AFS 23,120: One tape containing an Italian radio program broadcast in WSBC, Chicago, Illinois, June 8, 1978. (RYA 2977)

AFC 1981/018: AFS 23,121-23,123: Three tapes containing Greek, Serbian, and Filipino radio programs broadcast on WQVQ (1430 AM), Highland Park, Illinois, June 8 and June 11, 1978. (RYA 2978-2980)

AFC 1981/018: AFS 23,124: One tape containing a Yugoslav and Greek radio program broadcast on WEAW, Evanston, Illinois, June 11, 1978. (RYA 2981)

AFC 1981/018: AFS 23,138A: One tape containing an East Indian radio program broadcast on WLTD, Evanston, Illinois, June 11, 1978. (RYA 2986)

AFC 1981/018: AFS 23,138B-AFS 23,140: Three tapes containing Croatian, Scandinavian (religious), Czechosolvak, and Greek radio programs broadcast on WTAQ (1300 AM), La Grange, Illinois, June 9 and June 11, 1989. (RYA 2986-2988)

Archive of Folk Song: a 50th anniversary celebration (AFC 1978/030)
Documentation of a symposium, exhibit, and concert on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Archive of Folk Song at the Library of Congress. The day-long symposium featured papers and discussion on the past, present, and future of the Archive of Folk Song. Participants included Sterling Brown, Norman Cohen, Archie Green, Herbert Halpert, Wayland D. Hand, Joseph C. Hickerson, Alan Jabbour, Debora Kodish, Alan Lomax, Carol Nemeyer, James Porter, and Charles Seeger. Recorded at the Whittall Pavilion of the Library of Congress, November 16, 1978, 9-5 pm. The associated exhibition mounted in the Thomas Jefferson building of the Library of Congress was documented by photographs and this collection includes these photographs and the text for the exhibit panels. (LWO 12,527) [catalog record]

Eastern Illinois University Folk Music Survey Collection (AFC 1983/033)
Thirty-three 10-inch tapes of interviews, songs, stories, bluegrass, blues, Irish, and string band music by various performers on bagpipes, banjo, dobro, fiddle, flute, guitar, mandolet, mandolin, violin-uke, and zither. Recorded by Carl Fleischhauer, Gaye Harris, Garry Harrison, Steve Harrison, John Holiday, David Miller, Lynn Smith, and others in various eastern Illinois communities and at the Eastern Illinois University Festival of the Arts in 1977 and 1979. The Survey was directed by Vaughn Jaenike, Dean of Eastern Illinois University School of Fine Arts, and was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Charles E. Merril Trust. (RWA 6141-6173) (AFS 22,071-22,103) [catalog record]

The Mountains Stay With Us: Southern Upland Folklife in the Midwest (AFC 1982/022)
A regional folklife project field research summary compiled by Barry Bergey, Robert Cantwell, Mary Hufford, Kathleen Mundell, and Patricia Radecki, under the auspices of the Great Lakes Arts Alliance, 63 pages. The report includes a map of the site location and descriptions of the "work, leisure, and folk arts" of the "southern uplanders: a Midwestern ethnic group" of people who migrated from the "southern mountains." The study was conducted in parts of southern Illinois, southern Indiana, southeastern Michigan, and southern Ohio, January-June 1980. [catalog record]

Donald R. Hammerman / Northern Illinois University Cultural Journalism Projects (AFC 1983/019)
Sample copies of cultural journalism projects produced by participants in the various "communities workshops" which Donald Hammerman taught at Northern Illinois University.

American Dialect Society Collection (AFC 1984/011)
Sound recordings made between 1931-1937 to document American English dialects, mostly from New England and eastern Canada, for a proposed Linguistic Atlas of the United States and Canada. Most informants were elderly New Englanders, and included whalers, fisherman, farmers, and housewives. Several recordings document other languages and regions. The collection includes project correspondence, transcriptions, and index cards. [catalog record] [finding aid]

AFC 1984/011: 26,009B: One tape containing "The Rat Story" (version of "Arthur the Rat") read by an unidentified man from Bismarck, Illinois. Recorded by Victor Talking Machine Co., under the direction of Prof. H.M. Ayres and Prof. Cabell Greet, Columbia University, on an unknown date.

Raven McDavid / Regional Dialect Collection (AFC 1984/012)
Collection of field recordings of English language dialects compiled by Raven I. McDavid for research on linguistic atlas projects and teaching. Part 1: includes University of Leeds (England) survey of English dialects recorded by Stanley Ellis, W. N. Francis, and Michael V. Barry between 1953-1959 in England, including disc recordings duplicated on tape by Raven I. McDavid in 1961-1962; various dialect interviews recorded in South Carolina; Georgia; North Carolina; Louisiana; Florida; Mississippi; Kentucky; Indiana; Illinois; Kansas; New York; Massachusetts; Rhode Island; and Maine; and in Newfoundland, Canada, between 1959-1975 by several researchers including Harold Orton, Audrey Duckert, Barbara Rutledge, Pat Nichols, Raven I. McDavid, and others; various lectures, seminars, conferences, and radio and television shows featuring Raven I. McDavid between 1954-1977. Part 2: includes five 10-inch tapes of interviews with Iva Hayes and James Fullington, conducted by Raven McDavid, report to Encyclopedia Britannica on the Merriam Co. of Springfield, Massachusetts; readings from the Linguistic Atlas by Raven McDavid, and dialect readings of "Arthur the Rat" duplicated by the Library of Congress in 1984; Part 3 includes thirty-five 10-inch tapes of interviews conducted as part of the research for the Linguistic Atlas of North America, North Central region in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky, circa 1953-1961 by researchers Raven I. McDavid, Fred Householder, and Roger Shuy duplicated by the Library of Congress in 1981-1984. [catalog record]

Halbert H. Thornberry /Thornberry-Kentucky Farm - Home String Band Collection (AFC 1988/002)
Copies of recordings made from 1962-1976 of the Thornberry-Kentucky Farm-Home String Band at various family gatherings in Poole, Robards, Roller Sheldon, Henderson, and Morgenfield, Kentucky, and in Urbana, Illinois. Ring binder contains correspondence, biographical information, photographs, recording; inventories, booklets, music, and articles. Microfiche contains 5 positive sheets and 1 negative sheet of "Bicentennial Early Kentucky Fiddler and Costume."

1989 Neptune Plaza Concert Series Collection (AFC 1989/009)
The collection consists of manuscript materials, sound recordings, and photographs documenting the 1989 Neptune Plaza Concert Series featuring the presentation of folk traditions from many cultures. The concerts take place on the Neptune Plaza at the front of the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress between April and October. Produced in conjunction with the National Council for the Traditional Arts. [catalog record] [finding aid]

The following describes documentation from the May 18, 1989, concert by Eddie Blazonczyk and the Versatones, a Polish-style polka group from Illinois.

AFC 1989/009: Folder 6-8: Three folders containing a concert flyer autographed by the performers, unsigned flyers, a concert log by Aldona Joseph, press releases, news clippings, booklets on Polish culture and the Polka, and photo logs.

AFC 1989/009: SR3-4: Two tapes containing the concert. (1 hour)

AFC 1989/009: Envelope 7: One envelope containing two sheets of black-and-white negatives (35 images), of the concert. Photographed by John Gibbs and Reid Baker.

AFC 1989/009: Folder 9, Envelopes 8-10: Three envelopes containing three black-and-white contact sheets (66 images, photographed by John Gibbs and Reid Baker), three 3x5 black-and-white promotional photoprints (photographed by Wm. A. Crooks Photography), and 31 3x5 black-and-white photoprints (photographer unknown).

AFC 1989/009: Envelopes 11-12: Two envelopes containing two holders of 34 color slides of the concert. Photographed by John Gibbs and Reid Baker.

David Adler Cultural Center / "In the Tradition" Concert Series (AFC 1990/015)
Eleven videocassettes of interviews and concert footage from the "In the Tradition" concert series featuring 11 programs produced by the David Adler Cultural Center with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Libertyville Rotary Club, and the Illinois Arts Council. The performances showcase various traditions including blues, Irish, Scandinavian, and Middle Eastern songs, as well as fiddling and ballads from Missouri and Indiana. Recorded in Libertyville, Illinois, at the Libertyville High School Studio Theater, 1989. The collection includes 18 pages of concert fliers and descriptions of each performer and performance. Some performers featured on separate video programs performed together in concerts.

In Country II: Soldiers' Songs from Vietnam (AFC 1991/002)
Two audiocassettes of a program entitled "In Country II: Soldiers' Songs from Vietnam." Performers include Saul Broudy, Chip Dockery, James "Bull" Durham, Bill Ellis, Lisa Ellis, Larry Heinemann, Sherry Hughes, Toby Hughes, Dick Jonas, Kathy Jonas, Tom Price, Chuck Rosenberg (of New York City), and Robin Thomas. Recorded at the Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, Illinois, by Lydia M. Fish of Buffalo State College, Buffalo, New York, August 4, 1990. The collection includes 3 pages of datasheets and logs.

Schuyler Arts Folk Music Project Collection (AFC 1991/014)
Folk music of the Rushville (Schuyler Co.) area, Illinois, documented for the 1987 Schuyler Arts Folk Music Project, which was funded by the Illinois Arts Council. Performances of and interviews with 19 area singers, fiddlers, guitarists, harmonica players, hammered dulcimer players, instrument makers, and square dance callers. Also includes photos of performers. Intended as general survey of folk music in Schuyler and surrounding counties. [catalog record]

Pat Monaco Collection (AFC 1991/024)
Collection of 56 black-and-white photographs, 64 pages of oral history typescript, 18 fliers, 6 programs, 19 clippings, 4 newspapers, 1 newsletter, and 1 magazine detailing the blues scenes of Chicago, Illinois; Indianola, Mississippi; Leland, Mississippi; and Oakland, California.

Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools in America Project Collection (AFC 1993/001)
Twenty-four 5-inch tapes, 60 7-inch tapes, and 288 audiocassettes from the Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools in America Project, a survey of 23 ethnic schools from 22 ethnic groups. Recorded in various locations throughout the United States by Elena Bradunas and 23 fieldworkers, April-July 1982, sponsored by the American Folklife Center. The collection includes 14 linear feet of slides, photographs, and reports. Included is documentation of a Polish school, affiliated with the Polish Teachers Association of America, located in Chicago, Illinois. [catalog record] [finding aid]

George W. Tressel Collection (AFC 1994/005)
Ten 7-inch tapes of Croatian and Serbian music recorded by George Tressel on several late-night occasions at a "Balkan cafe" in Chicago, Illinois, 1954. Includes 2 hours of performances by the Popovich (Popovic) Bothers and Martin Kapugi's (Kapudji) ensemble, whose repertories exemplify the music and instrumentation of post-World War I Serbian and Croatian immigrants. Both groups also perform several bar-room standards. Instruments include the brac (Croatian plucked lute), bugarij (long-necked lute) and prime (small lute made from turtle shell). [catalog record]

Mike Seeger Collection (AFC 1995/004)
Two hundred and seventy-five 10-inch tapes of bluegrass, country, and folk music, recorded in California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia, primarily by Mike Seeger, 1953-67. The collection includes three linear inches of computer disks, correspondence, logs, notes, and photos. [catalog record]

Lands' End All-American Quilt Collection (AFC 1997/011)
Lands' End in cooperation with Good Housekeeping magazine sponsored quilt contests in 1992, 1994, and 1996. The collection, housed in 154 boxes, consists of visual images, entry blanks, and essays written by entrants, as well as Lands End administrative files and correspondence pertinent to the promotion of the contest. Approximately 13,100 entries for the three contests came from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Numerous types and styles of needlework, quilting, patchwork, applique and embroidery are represented among the visual images. [catalog record] [finding aid] [online presentation]

Eric Larson Recordings of Otto Martin Larson (AFC 1998/004)
One audiocassette containing 23 ragtime and other versions of 7 piano pieces played by Otto Martin Larson (1895-1961), of Hammond, Indiana; Chicago, Illinois; and Detroit, Michigan. Two pieces are his original compositions: "Old Kentucky," and "Sarabelle and Johnny." Other titles are: "Golden Days," "It Had to Be You," "Kiss Me Again," "Liebestraum," and "You and I." Larson initially played in silent movie theaters, and later played in theaters and night clubs. The collection includes 25 pages of biographical information, song lyrics, and program notes.

Alice A. Paulson / Freda and Hugo Wolf Square Dance Collection (AFC 1999/028)
One handwritten square dance notebook of Freda Montgomery Wolf, written in the 1940s, plus copies of two photos of Wolf's Orchestra, and a memoir by Paulson of the orchestra and of her experiences as a square dance caller in the DeKalb, Sycamore, Genoa, and Marengo, Illinois, area.

Local Legacies Collection (AFC 2000/001)
Four hundred and five linear feet (approximately 90,000 manuscript pages, 475 sound recordings, 13,270 graphic materials, 335 electronic media, and 75 artifacts) of documentation of local festivals, fairs, parades, and other community-based events from each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories and trusts. The Local Legacies Collection was donated through the efforts of individuals, organizations, and institutions asked to participate by members of Congress. This project was part of the Library of Congress Bicentennial celebration in the year 2000. [catalog record] [online presentation] [Illinois Local Legacies]

Illinois Arts Council collection (AFC 2001/003)
One hundred fifty-five audiocassettes, 36 7-inch tapes, 16 videocassettes, one linear foot of manuscripts, and 1000+ photographic materials documenting Illinois folklife, ca. 1970s-1990s. Donated by the Illinois Arts Council. The collection includes documentation of Tim Cooley with Sunshine Lee, Noel Rice, Amira Davis & Sister Love, George Boyde, Skeets Evans, Carlos Eguil-Aguila, and Will Norman. Apprenticeship documentation includes Lithuanian Skudutis technique (Raminta Pemkus & Darius Lapinskas) and African percussion (Tyrone Fair & Sylvester Lee). VHS tapes document the Original Southern Harmonizers, the Polish Highlanders, Mt. Zion Missionary Baptish Church, Alejandro Areano & Juan Hernandez, David Dee & family. Audiocassettes document Martin Kapugi, Bible Grove Opry, Thornberry, Jimmy Payne, Cairo, Arlin Dretz, Orvil Hale, Archie Smothers, Betty Brinkman, a Polish wedding, Eddie Snow, West Frankfort Dance, Lloyd "Boot" Shoe, Monmouth Sale Barn [Steve Rolander, auctioneer], Liz Carroll, Gideon Alorwoyie, Pompeo Stillo, Foday Musa Suso, Midwest Taiko ensemble, Cambodian folk ensemble, Alberto Sanabria, Arpa Paraguaya, Raeses des Andes Musica Boliviana, Archie Smothers, Jose Morales, Joe Shannon, Janes McGuire, and Patrick Marks.

September 11, 2001, Documentary Project Collection (AFC 2001/015)
The collection documents reactions of ordinary citizens in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States through sound and video recordings of interviews and personal narratives; as well as photographs, children's drawings, two scrapbooks, letters and e-mail, poems, ephemera, and a few artifacts. Some items were submitted as group projects of schools, libraries, and museums from 30 states in the U.S., and from American military service personnel and their families in Naples, Italy. [catalog record] [finding aid] [online presentation]

AFC 2001/015: SR089: One mini-cassette and one compact disc of an interview of Dan Klefstad of Dekalb, Illinois, conducted by Lisa Reynolds. Recorded November 8, 2001. [audio]

AFC 2001/015: SR090-SR106: Sixteen audiocassettes containing interviews conducted by students of the an oral history class at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Recorded October 2-November 27, 2001.

Art Thieme Documentary Recordings Collection (AFC 2001/030)
Five audiocassettes, 3 CDs, and 17 manuscript pages made by Art Thieme of blues singers and hobos in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio in 1960-1962, and 2000.

Midwinter Festival of Traditional Music, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, 1970-1971 (AFC 2001/034)
Three 7-inch tapes of sound recordings of the Midwinter Festival of Traditional Music, recorded at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in 1970 and 1971. Artists include Booker T. "Bukka" White, the Balfa Brothers, and Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys. [catalog record]

Pinetop Perkins Concert Collection (AFC 2002/020)
One digital audio tape (DAT) of a concert by Pinetop Perkins with the Bob Margolin Band. Recorded at the Library of Congress, November 7, 2002 as part of the 2002 Homegrown Concert Series. The music features classic Chicago blues, publicity photographs, program flyer, and other publicity materials. [catalog record]

Jens Lund collection (AFC 2004/023)
Field recordings and related documentation of small and independent commercial fishing and fish marketing operations and related folkways in the Ohio River Valley, recorded primarily in Illinois and Kentucky, by folklorist Jens Lund from 1977-1979. The collection includes interviews with fishermen and market operators covering the topics of fishing with hoop-nets, gill-nets, trammel-nets, and other nets; netmaking; seineing; trot-lining; fishing traps; turtle fishing; mussel fishing; eeling; fishing regulations; fish processing and marketing; fishing decline and fish kills; duck hunting; river pollution; fishing equipment; fishing boats; boat building; foodways; local histories; and folklore; with performances of tall tales, jokes, Schwänke (humorous tales), folk songs, ballads, poems, bawdy folklore, and other stories. The collection includes detailed indexes of the recordings in three notebooks created by Jens Lund. [catalog record]

Jens Lund Folklife Center of the Ohio Valley Collection (AFC 2004/025)
Collection of field recordings made by fieldworkers Jens Lund, Dillon Bustin, and Kathleen Restle for the Folklife Center of the Ohio Valley, September - November, 1977 including Primitive Baptist church meetings and church services in Posey County, Indiana; local music making, and interviews with quiltmakers, fishermen, and others in Gallatin County, Illinois and Posey County, Indiana. Includes interviews about whirligigs and barn painting; storytelling, supernatural experiences, religion, hymn-singing, poems, and songs. [catalog record]

Dunn Family Collection of Captain Francis O'Neill Cylinder Recordings (AFC 2005/001)
Twenty-nine digital files (copied from wax cylinders) of Irish music recorded by Captain Francis O'Neill (1848-1936). Performers include Edward Cronin, Barney Delaney, Sgt. James Early, James McFadden, H. Touhey, and Patrick Touhey. The collection includes a song list. Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, ca. 1910s.

Liz Carroll with John Doyle Concert and Interview Collection (AFC 2005/022)
Homegrown 2005 concert. Liz Carroll, fiddler, with John Doyle, guitarist and singer, Irish American fiddling from Illinois, with oral history interview. Concert recorded April 21, 2005, in the Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. [catalog record] [event flyer]

Donald R. Hill and David Mangurian collection (AFC 2007/018)
Original analog tapes and digitized copies of the tapes, representing over 40 hours of original field recordings made between 1958 and 1961 in Baltimore, Maryland; Clarksdale, Mississippi; Chicago, Illinois; Delaney, Arkansas; Los Angeles, California; Nashville, Tennessee; New Orleans, Louisiana; New York, New York; St. Louis, Missouri, and in Northern Georgia. The recordings comprise 724 songs and interviews with 20 of the musicians (including 12 blues and street singers). [catalog record]

McCarthyism, Blacklists and Urbana-Champaign: A Community's Stand for Civil Liberties and One Family's Personal Experience, lecture by Courtney Cazden (AFC 2008/038)
One CD of a lecture delivered by Courtney Cazden, professor emerita of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, regarding the organized, grassroots battle for civil liberties and free speech in Illinois in 1953-1954, in opposition to the anti-communist Broyles Bills introduced in the Illinois legislature in 1953. She also discusses discrimination against faculty members at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in the wake of this fight for civil liberties. [catalog record]

Huddie Ledbetter Letter to Lois Burwen (AFC 2009/024)
One-page letter and envelope from Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter), June 5, 1947, addressed to Lois Burwen. The letter is a thank-you note following Ledbetter's trip to Chicago, Illinois. The daughter of Lois Burwen David (1928-2005), Carol David, donated the letter and sent a 1-page note about her mother's involvement in folk music in Chicago, including her involvement in the founding of the Old Town School of Folk Music, and her association with Pete Seeger and Studs Terkel. [catalog record]

Kiu Haghighi and Tooraj Moshref-Zadeh concert collection, 2011 July 20 (AFC 2011/034)
Homegrown 2011 concert. July 20, 2011, 12-1 pm, Coolidge Auditorium. Kiu Haghighi with Tooraj Moshref-Zadeh, Persian santour and tombak music from Illinois. Kiu's work as both a performer and a composer on the santour combines traditional Iranian forms with contemporary ones. A master of all the twelve melody types used as a basis for Iranian classical improvisation, Kiu has expanded the technical possibilities of the santour. His unusual speed in the movement of the leather-tipped mallets called mezrab is extraordinary. He was accompanied by Tooraj Moshref-Zadeh on the tombak, a Persian drum. Photos by John Barton. [catalog record] [event flyer and webcast]

Cultural Traditions of Ironworkers in America's Upper Midwest : Archie Green Fellows Project, 2011-2012 (AFC 2011/062)
Collection of field recordings of 24 oral history interviews with retired ironworkers in Wisconsin and Illinois conducted by folklorists James Leary and Bucky Halker, with photographs, interview logs, and transcripts. Some interviews were conducted by Bucky Halker at the IWU national convention at Sheraton Hotel on the Chicago River in Chicago, 2011. A few photographs are digital copies of the interviewees' photographs documenting building and bridge construction, topping out ceremonies, and other events, circa 1963 to 1990s. Most photographs of structures, ornamental ironwork, ironworkers' homes and families were taken by the interviewers in 2011. The collection includes a book of illustrations of ironworkers and ironworking by Blair Kennedy titled: Our tribute to Blair Kennedy : an Ironworker & Illustrator printed by the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers and I.M.P.A.C.T., 2010. [catalog record]

Microfilm Collection

Microfilm 97/1120 (M): Some representative southern Illinois folk-songs / by David Seneff McIntosh
M.A. Thesis. State University of Iowa, 1935. 374 pages. [catalog record]